From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #689 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Wednesday, April 24 2002 Volume 01 : Number 689 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 02:39:55 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] FARMS, tone, and Mormon studies Although I appreciated Harlow's comments, I must add that last month I bought a recent issue of FARMS Review of Books (12:2, 2000), and found it fascinating. I think it is part of an amazingly rich amount of quality literature being done on Mormon studies at present. There were a few reviews that did have some of the snippy tone that Harlow mentions, but often they were balanced by reviews of the same book by others which had a much more measured, empathetic tone. Hopefully they have learned their lesson from the backlash of their reviews about the Metcalfe's New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, in which I think they made a lot of good points, but their level of snippiness became excessive. As I said, there were a few reviews whose tone I disliked in the current issues, but it was at about the same rate as Dialogue or many other journals. I especially found Daniel Peterson's Editor's Introduction "'What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?': Apostasy and Restoration in the Big Picture" enlightening and a great read (http://farms.byu.edu/free/review/12_2/r12b.asp?content=intro). Peterson compares Jewish ideas about God and religion to Greek ones, and talks about how some Mormon ideas and practices are a return to the Jewish ways. I won't try to do it justice, but I highly reccomend it to everyone. The FARMS people also put out a magazine called Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. I have only glanced through a couple of issues, but it seems to be pretty measured, avoiding the more hysterical and overstated claims of amatuer Book of Mormon archelogists of the past. Again, I was expecially impressed by an article by Daniel Peterson on Asherah, discussing evidence that she was not just heathen false god, as presented in the Deuteronomist authors of the Old Testament, but may have been an important part of early Israelite religious belief, which shows up in the writings of Nephi and as the female charchter of Wisdom in Proverbs. I find Peterson to be one of the most exciting, creative scholars I have read in recent Mormon studies (disclaimer--Peterson is a friend of my parents, although I do not know him well at all). I picked up several Mormon studies magazines during my recent trip to Provo, and am subscribed to a few others, and I am blown away by the amount of interesting things being written. One no longer has time to keep up with everything. The Journal of Mormon History includes historians of all backgrounds, and is full of interesting things in its two issues a year. Dialogue is churning out issues at a pretty quick pace. The latest issue had a bit too much about the Book of Abraham for my taste, and while the fiction and essays they have done have been good, I would like to see a little more. Still, I pretty much gobble down all of it with zeal. Sunstone and Irreantum both put out excellent issues about Gene England. Dan Witherspoon is not as interesting an essayist as Elbert Peck was, but he seems to be doing a good job as an editor getting the magazine back on its feet. And Chris at Irreantum is doing great. The Sugar Beet is loads of fun, and the two major web magazines (Deseret Book Mormon Life and Meridian) have some occasional interesting content. BYU Studies is kind of a hit and miss thing, they have a lot more dull stuff than I'd like, but often they have interesting things too. Really, it is quite an amazing amount of literature. And then there are all the books which I'll never read. That Chronicle of Higher Education article about new Mormon studies books that someone mentioned last month (http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i28/28a01401.htm)included a ton of books I'd like to read, including those new ones about pologamy. The one I went ahead and bought was Terryl Givens' _By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion_. Givens is a young Mormon English professor at Virginia, and his book, about the Book of Mormon itself, its claims and impact, is supposed to be a landmark work. And then I like to read the Ensign. Needleess to say, I don't actually read every issue of these magazines I mention, I don't have the time. And I disagree with a lot of what I read. But I find the discussion fascinating. Andrew Hall Fukuoka, Japan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 12:21:34 EDT From: HOJONEWS@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Richard Dutcher (SL Tribune) In a message dated 4/23/02 8:45:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time, andrewrhall@hotmail.com writes: > "Whatever the > story is, if you're telling it honestly and with sincerity, > even though it may have Mormon particulars and may be saturated > with Mormonism, then it can become universal. It can transcend > the regional specifics." > Amen to this. Anything that is regional--Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, whatever--will transcend the specific if it deals with universal themes. And, really, it's hard not to deal with universal themes. What human emotion isn't universal? I am patient with those who say "I don't want to read your book because it's about Mormons," (Yes, I've heard this, although usually the message is more cloaked like "Oh, it's about Utah!" ) but I feel a certain depression because that person very likely is the one that could glean the most from its message which isn't religious but anti-intolerance. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Author of This is the Place, an award-winning story about a young journalist who writes her way through repression into redemption For a FREE First Chapter Click Here or send to: carolynhowardjohnson@sendfree.com FREE Cooking by the Book at http://www.tlt.com/authors/carolynhowardjohnson.htm - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 10:31:11 -0600 From: "Cathy Wilson" Subject: [AML] Competitive Righteousness (was: Gen. Conference) Marvin writes: I think the phrase "competitive righteousness" is a great phrase. I've been thinking a little about this. In the Psalms, David does a lot of this: "the righteous man tells the truth, while the wicked man is a liar; the righteous man is upright while the wicked man is a scoundrel" (loose rendering by yours truly). And who is the righteous man? Always ME!!! Duh, of course! We would never identify with the wicked man, after all. King David, bless his heart, reflects a POV that we are also acculturated to: competetiveness, hierarchy, comparing ourselves to others. You think you don't do it? I think we ALL do it. I catch myself at it often enough to try to work hard to be aware and overcome it. We walk into a room, a chapel, a meeting, and so often we, perhaps unconsciously, place everyone in a hierarchy. And we are the measure of the good, one way or another. It even gets more complicated because we almost always project an image of ourselves--rather than our real selves--so the ranking is even more ridiculous. I think this comes from being brought up in a hierarchal, competetive society. From the time we are tiny, and certainly when we are in school, our parents and teachers compare us to others and play us against each other. Someone wins, someone loses. Someone is pretty or handsome, someone NOT. We are happy and content when we are the good guy, and miserable and blanked out when we are not. This is so pervasive that we don't even give it a second thought. However, I believe it is a mix of the natural man (who has to WIN) and culture. I believe that becoming a Christian means giving that away. Remember how the Jews despised Christ because he was perfectly happy to be around "sinners" and "outcasts?" I once had a dream about Zion. There in the middle of the city were a couple of prostitutes. They were as happy and at home as everybody else. I asked one of them, "What are YOU doing here?" "Oh, we're not practicing anymore," she said happily. And that was enough. She belonged in Zion, just like the rest of us sinners. Cathy (Gileadi) Wilson Editing Etc. 1400 West 2060 North Helper UT 84526 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 13:58:27 -0600 From: Darlene Young Subject: Re: [AML] Announcing: Center Street Theater Congratulations, Thom, Scott and Paul! I can't even tell you how thrilled I am for you and how sad I am not to be living in the state. Any new medium for LDS arts merits rejoicing, but I know you guys will produce especially good stuff. If I were there, I would buy season tickets immediately. I hope all the local Listers will show you their support and go see all your plays! (I also hope to write something someday that will be performed there!) Darlene Young - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 10:35:01 -0600 From: "ROY SCHMIDT" Subject: Re: [AML] Richard Dutcher (SL Tribune) I read this article and assumed the "one Utah bigwig" who bailed out was Larry Miller. If true, any scuttle as to why he bailed? Roy Schmidt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 10:01:56 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Creative Writing Programs A fairly interesting article: >From muse to manuscript Creative writing programs blossom as colleges cater to growing numbers of would-be O'Connors By Patrik Jonsson | Special to The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0423/p15s01-lehl.html Forwarded by Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 10:26:08 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Kieth Merrill Article Another interesting article: Becoming the Vision the Prophet Saw by Kieth Merrill Note from the Editor: Following is the key note address given by Kieth Merrill at the Mormon Arts Foundation on April 12, 2002. The Mormon Arts Foundation is a non profit organization created by an anonymous benefactor to encourage Mormon Arts. It is sustained by private donations. Select artists from each of the several artistic disciplines are invited to attend the 2-day annual conference. They show their work. They share their dreams. They discuss the role of Mormon Art and artists in building the Kingdom of God on earth. http://www.meridianmagazine.com/arts/020423vision.html Forwarded by Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 10:58:46 -0600 From: "Amy Chamberlain" Subject: Re: [AML] Literature Abuse CONFESSIONS OF A NOVEL-EATER I am a rampant, shameless abuser, and in fact I must lay my utter lack of participation in anything meaningful for the last few days at the feet of this execrable problem. I started reading a novel on Sunday that simply would not leave my hands. I shunned food, sleep, meaningful family relationships, the Sunday School lesson (which awoke some guilt, easily quieted) and even a Sacrament Meeting talk to answer this siren's call. When I finished it, I wandered around the house in a daze, bumping into things and murmuring inconsequentials to all and sundry. My husband has been eyeing me askance and offering the occasional gentle reminder that I DO still have a family which would greatly benefit by my "returning from the lands of the dead." I believe I nodded vaguely and muttered something about Oxford. Then, yesterday, after a desperate foray to the library five minutes after it opened ("what if it's not here? What will I do? Where's the nearest Barnes and Noble?"), I found and devoured the sequel, which wasn't QUITE as good. It came tantalizingly close to the original, but fell conspicuously short in several vital aspects. I woke today in a cloud of severe depression and have occupied myself by re-writing, or inventing from scratch, the sequel's key scenes in my head. Pray for me. Amy - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:00:03 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] AML Seeks Grant Coordinator The AML is looking to increase its working budget and start building an endowment. The AML board asked me to inquire if anyone out there would be interested in volunteering to help the AML as a grant coordinator. We have a manual of all the Utah foundations and how to approach them, so this position would mainly involve doing that in a reasonably proactive ongoing manner. The person should be able to write convincing, well-targeted letters/applications and keep track of results and progress, as well as seek new places to apply and other ways to raise funds. The AML board would be a resource as far as providing info and acting as a sounding board for letter/application text. It would be nice to have someone on the Wasatch Front, but it's probably quite possible for someone out-of-state to do this. Experience in grant seeking would be great, but we have a training manual and CD-ROM we can provide to orient someone who is new to this. If you are interested, contact me directly and I will act as liaison with the AML board. Not only would you be doing the AML a great service, but volunteer work like this can beef up your resume and lead to unexpected personal opportunities. Chris Bigelow chris.bigelow@unicitynetwork.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:12:52 -0600 From: "Ethan Skarstedt" Subject: [AML] RE: Competitive Righteousness (was: Gen. Conference) So if someone really is righteous in some major way, say they actually read their scriptures everyday, they should lie and deceive people about how they spent their morning? or about exactly when they had a thought about the scriptures, just so others won't think they're being holier than thou? Surely not. There's a large difference between the Publican on the street bragging about his tithing and someone talking matter of factly about their life. Thom said: "I define humility (which I also profess to not have one iota of) as the inability to speak of one's own accomplishments in a positive light." I call that false modesty and it's as bad as its opposite, being a braggart. We should all be able to talk truthfully about our lives, the good and the bad without worrying about offending somebody. This ties into my own thoughts on literature in general. As writers, we should feel free to cover the good and the bad in our character's lives. I've met people who were so good in so many areas that I would never have believed them as characters in a book, but I lived with them and so was forced to conclude that they were real. Such people exist and we should feel free to include them in our writing where appropriate. The same goes with the bad folks. I've seen people object to a book because the characters in it were too bad. Upon examination I found that none of the characters were beyond my experience, I'd met worse people. The difficulty all comes down to truth. Ideally we should all be able to dispense and receive absolute truthfulness (as we see it, of course) without taking offence. We're a far cry from that now, as a species, but surely it's a worthy goal. Thom, IMO has described the side of the coin whose opposite face holds the publican on the street corner. I think we should try and balance that sucker on its edge in our writing, not only internally to each piece (that could get boring) but in the body of work as a whole. It's going to take a lot of dark introspective "edgy" writing to balance out all the Romance claptrap being published. But, "The truth is out there." - -Ethan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:36:50 -0600 From: "Ethan Skarstedt" Subject: RE: [AML] Money and Art I'm confused. Eric has told us all that we have no right to complain about how the NEA spends our money on the arts;=20 "Yes. Absolutely. Taxpayers are just dead wrong to complain about the NEA, and especially specific avant-garde artists who receive grants."=20 and (in a different post)that if we disagree with him then we haven't really thought about the issue. "The reason this is a compelling argument is simply that we all support the statement 'I support the arts' without actually having thought much about it. My point, though, is that if the arts are going to be supported, then what needs support is, well, 'art.' And we don't really think much about what that means." The thrust of his argument seems to be that only a body like the NEA can support a truly diverse artistic effort. That if the NEA were to disappear we would be doomed to get only what us peons consider good art and that that would be a tragedy. (If I've misunderstood please forgive me.) I object to the idea that "The NEA" is somehow more capable of supporting diversity and avante gardeness than "the rest of us" and I object to it on 2 levels. One: In my admittedly limited experience the NEA doesn't support a diversity of art. They only support art that fits the politically correct mold. I suspect that if they were to support an artist who displayed a Star of David suspended in urine (rather than a cross) that there would be a hue and cry to dwarf all hues and cries that came before because that artist would not only have offended the christians but also, more importantly, the liberal squeaky wheels. (everyone can get behind the jews after all) Then again, what if they supported a performing artist who did his act in black-face and used colloquial southern language. Never will happen. Why? Because it's offensive to the political in-crowd. (It would also be offensive to "the rest of us" but then "we" don't count) The individuals who run the NEA and disperse funding are no more capable of supporting truly diverse art than anybody else is. They are just people, like us. The idea that the NEA somehow produces a wider diversity of art than the open market would is an illusion... IMO. Two: I have no objection to people producing whatever art they like, whether it's offensive to me or not. I do object to being forced to pay for it under threat of imprisonment. (try figuring out what percentage of your taxes goes to the NEA and then withholding that portion, hello Bubba.) And I find the argument that if the NEA doesn't support edgy art then no more edgy art will be produced or that only lower quality edgy art will be produced to be specious. Lots of edgy art has been produced in America without Uncle Sam as a sugar daddy and it will continue to be produced with or without the NEA. Consider Bronson's play "Stones", as far as I'm aware that play has been produced without government funding (if I'm wrong, again, please forgive me, but I could cite other examples) and frankly I consider it top notch edgy mormon/religious theater. I loved it and supported it monetarily, (to the price of my tickets) but I can name you ten people of my direct acquaintance who would have been offended by it. If the NEA were to disappear, leaving artists to depend on getting funding from voluntary donors, plenty of edgy art would still be produced. In fact, I submit that _more_ edgy art would be produced because once the Federal Government has hopped off the bandwagon I'm willing to bet that many of the myriad replacements would be nuttier than Uncle Sam. =20 If being offensive were the only measure of good edgy art we'd be able to rest easy since I can't imagine a single work of art, ever, that has not offended _someone_ and I can think of plenty of groups that would produce art which would offend me and groups whom my art would offend. Then again, I don't think anyone was making the argument that good edgy art _had_ to offend. The measure of good edgy art is more diaphonous. There are more people capable of creating good art and good edgy art than are on the NEA's list. My proposed alternative? Dump the whole process back into the private sector. I will always trust survival of the fittest to produce quality before I will trust a bureaucrat. And if the private sector produced no art, no funding for art and no interest in the arts? Well then our society is sicker than anyone has dreamed and the NEA doesn't have the capacity to cure it so let me keep my money to toss it where I deem appropriate. - -Ethan Skarstedt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 12:57:09 -0600 (MDT) From: Ivan Angus Wolfe Subject: [AML] Re: Competitive Righteousness (was: Gen. Conference) > I define humility (which I also profess to not have one iota of) as the > inability to speak of one's own accomplishments in a positive light. Such > public proclamations as I list above remind of the Publican braggin about > how often he pays tithing while standing on the street corner while the > truly humble sinner can hardly raise his eyes to heaven. > > Thom Duncan I prefer CS Lewis's idea that humilty is the ability to build the best building ever made and take no more pride in it than if your rival had built it. under that definition, You can still talk about your accomplishments in a positive way in public, but praise it like you would praise anything wonderfully made. - --ivan wolfe - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:45:09 -0600 From: Gideon Burton Subject: [AML] Mormon Literature in Spanish I have long wanted to address non-English Mormon literature, and this query from Craig Bergeson on Spanish LDS literature gives us a chance to brainstorm on what is out there (not simply translated from English). Can anyone provide authors, titles of literary works in Spanish by or about Mormons? Gideon Burton - -----Original Message----- From: Craig BERGESON [mailto:CBERGESON@weber.edu] Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 3:37 PM To: > Subject: Mormon Literature in Spanish Hello, I teach Spanish at Weber State University and am interested in finding Mormon literature written in Spanish (not translated from English). Could you possibly guide me in the right direction? Thanks, Craig Bergeson Associate Professor of Spanish Weber State University cbergeson@weber.edu (801) 626-7111 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 16:06:11 -0300 From: "renatorigo" Subject: Re: [AML] Graffiti Art > Folks, Here in Brazil Graffiti Art has been used to recover poor boys and chindren that live on the streets and Favelas ( slums...I think the translation is this one.) The themes of graffiti art is generally Social Themes against violence and social justice.... We, brazilian people, see graffiti art ina a positive optica..Everything that the men create can bee used in a good way or bad way ( pornography...etc) Renato Rigo renatorigo@yahoo.it - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 14:36:55 -0600 From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: [AML] Re: Competitive Righteousness (was: Gen. Conference) Thom said: >I define humility (which I also profess to not have one iota of) as the >inability to speak of one's own accomplishments in a positive light. I don't think of that as an absolute, though, and taken to the extreme even *that* can be self-aggrandizing and truly obnoxious. >There is a difference between bragging about one's righteousness and one's >mobility. The second one does not make one appear to be >"holier-than-thou." That's just a question of arena. I can certainly imagine a situation where bragging about mobility can make one appear to be "better-than-thou" (and "holier-than-thou" is just the religious version of "better-than-thou"). I just think it's a little silly to expect a group of religious people to have discussions about religious topics and not mention religious activity. I do dislike it when people feel they must broadcast to the world how much more righteous they are than anyone else...but I have to decry such a broad condemnation because its broad brush paints so many people that have no intention of trying to be "holier-than-thou." Marianne Hales Harding _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 13:15:03 -0800 From: Stephen Carter Subject: [AML] RE: Competitive Righteousness >===== Original Message From "Thom Duncan" ===== Such >public proclamations as I list above remind of the Publican braggin about >how often he pays tithing while standing on the street corner while the >truly humble sinner can hardly raise his eyes to heaven. I think the Lord >wants us to see an example in that parable. Basically, "Keep your >righteousness between you and me. No one else has to know about it." May I tell you about a youth project going on in my ward? The youth are going on a "video service scavenger hunt." Members of the ward are going to follow these kids around and film their good deeds. Then they're going to make popcorn and watch each other's righteous doings afterwards at the ward house. I kid you not. Stephen Carter Fairbanks, Alaska - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 13:20:17 -0800 From: Stephen Carter Subject: RE: [AML] Sanitized LDS History? >===== Original Message From "Scott Parkin" ===== >Christopher Bigelow asked: > >> What exactly happened on Oct. 3? Was it just the standing up in his own >> ward's Sunday school class, or is he referring to something else? > I'm not positive, but I think that in one of Gene's reprinted articles in his commemorative issue of Sunstone he talks at length about that day (he talks about one of his infamous acts, I just can't remember if it took place on the date we're discussing). It was a Sunstone symposium. Stephen Carter Fairbanks, Alaska - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 15:29:02 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Competitive Righteousness > During the most recent General Conference (Thom, I don't mean that to sound > like "while attending the temple" or "somewhere near the conclusion of my > daily 4:00 am scripture hour") To clarify, I would not consider this a "holier-than-thou" statement because anybody, saint or sinner, can attend conference. No special worthiness is required. But let's look at the a statement like, "During my scripture study.." Couldn't a person say, just as easily, "The passage in Moroni, chapter 10 reminds me of such-and-such." That way, the point is made, the scripture is alluded to, but we don't have to know if you read the scripture last week, or five minutes ago, or looked it up just for the talk you use it in. Having spent most of my life on the outer edge of Mormon respectability, I suppose I've become more sensitive to exclusive language than most. Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 15:43:08 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Box Office Report April 19 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of April 19, 2002 Report compiled by: LDSFilm.com [If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as Courier - Ed.] Natl Film Title Weekend Gross Rank LDS/Mormon Filmmaker/Actor Total Gross Theaters Days - --- ----------------------------- ----------- ----- ---- 3 Murder by Numbers (NEW) 9,307,394 2,663 3 Ryan Gosling (actor) 9,307,394 23 The Other Side of Heaven 379,006 265 129 Mitch Davis (writer/director) 3,538,066 John H. Groberg (author/character) Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) 45 Ocean's Eleven $66,854 48 136 LDS characters: Malloy twins 183,349,128 65 The Singles Ward 33,849 14 80 Kurt Hale (writer/director) 537,598 John E. Moyer (writer) Dave Hunter (producer) Cody Hale (composer) Ryan Little (cinematographer) Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young, Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne, Michael Birkeland, Robert Swenson, Lincoln Hoppe, Gretchen Whalley, Sedra Santos, etc. 79 Galapagos 10,319 6 906 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 12,600,910 86 China: The Panda Adventure 8,029 5 269 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 2,232,012 99 Mulholland Drive 4,305 7 196 Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) 7,212,548 BOX OFFICE: In a week with lots of new films being released and the number one film of the weekend, "The Scorpion King" raking in an amazing $36 million, it was not surprising that there was a drop in most already-released films. "The Other Side of Heaven" saw its weekend gross reach just over half what it took in a week ago. Although it played in fewer theaters than last week, its per-screen average also took a hit, bringing in $1,430 per theater compared to $2,251 per theater last week. The film's total gross reached $3.5 million, which is the halfway mark to its reported $7 million production budget. The U.S. box office receipts of "The Other Side of Heaven" now exceed the combined total from Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" and "Brigham City." Despite total box office dominace by "The Scorpion King", "Murder by Numbers", which stars Latter-day Saint actor Ryan Gosling in the male lead role, opened in the number 3 spot, with a strong $9 million opening weekend. While reviews of the film were mixed, most of the reviewers praised Ryan's performance, even if they didn't give high marks to his co-star Sandra Bullock or the film overall. It appears that he has a promising career ahead of him. "Murder by Numbers" marks the best box office performance of a movie headlined by an LDS actor since "The Fast and the Furious", which opened with a $40 million weekend, followed by 2 more weeks with box office takes over $10 million. "The Fast and the Furious" starred Paul Walker in the 1st billed role. SINGLES WARD AND FORTUNE COOKIE WIN AT THUNDERBIRD FILM FEST: "The Singles Ward" - -- Kurt Hale's comedic look at Latter-day Saint single life -- received 3 major awards at the 2nd Annual Thunderbird International Film Festival, which was held April 11-14, 2002 at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. "The Singles Ward" won the Best Professional Long Comedy and Best Picture awards, and Kurt Hale won the Best Director (Fiction) Award. "Fortune Cookie," directed by Latter-day Saint filmmaker Clay Essig, won the Karl Malden Award, and also was named as Honorable Mention recipient in the Best Professional Long Comedy category. The producer of "Fortune Cookie" was David Greenlaw Sapp, who is also a producer of Kels Goodman's upcoming feature film "Handcart", and who was the first assistant director and line producer on Richard Dutcher's "Brigham City." Films from around the world, made by filmmakers of all religious and ethnic backgrounds, compete at Thunderbird. The judges at this year's festival were Dan Decker (author of _Anatomy of a Screenplay_), Dr. Lionel Grady, (Southern Utah University Associate Professor of Communication) writer/director/actor Larry D. Eudene ("The Reunion"), screenwriter Chris Conkling ("The Lord of the Rings", "The Emmett Smith Story") and producer/director Gayle Knutson ("Grandfather's Birthday"). The full list of award-winners can be found at: http://www.suu.edu/pva/ta/festival/winners02.html NELEH WATCH: This week's "Survivor: Marquesas" was an incredible episode, with Neleh doing relatively poorly in challenges, but starting to actually "play the game" for the first time after being on the island for 24 days. And she played brilliantly, which John, the island's self-appointed deposed leader, admitted when he was interviewed by Jane Clayson the next morning in "The Early Show." Simply put, the seemingly unstoppable alliance composed of John the Nurse, Zoe, Tammy, and "General" was toppled by the sudden formation of an alliance between Neleh, Paschal and Kathy, joined by their former across-the-pond rivals Sean and Vecipia. John et al made their fatal mistake when they tipped their hands during the immunity challenge and arrogantly indicated in what order they would get rid of everybody else. This means that Richard Hatch wannabe John is off the island, and Neleh may have a spot in the final five. Stay tuned. AN ENEMY AMONG US: "Behind Enemy Lines", the blockbuster military action film written by Mormon screenwriter Dave Veloz, was released on DVD this week. The story, set in recent war-torn former Yugoslavia, was loosely inspired by the real life downing and rescue of Utah soldier Scott O'Grady in Bosnia. "Behind Enemy Lines", which stars Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman, was more popular with moviegoers than with critics. It earned over $58 million at the box office, more than Veloz' previous (far more controversial) hit, "Natural Born Killers." ALMOST HERE: The video/DVD release of Richard Dutcher's "Brigham City" is just days away. Those who saw it in the theaters will no doubt be among the first to buy it. And those who missed it will have a chance to see why "Brigham City" is the most critically acclaimed LDS-themed film ever made. TRENT THE CENTRIST: The Deseret News printed a great article (http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,380013716,00.html? ) by Jeff Vice about Utah filmmaker Trent Harris, discussing his new film, the serious feature-length documentary "The Cement Ball of Earth, Heaven and Hell." The film proviles former Khmer Rouge soldier Aki Ra, and is a clear departure for the filmmaker known for such Mormon-centric and Utah-oriented fare as "Plan 10 from Outer Space" and the award-winning "Beaver Trilogy." In the article Harris discusses his preference for making films in Utah rather than L.A., and is quoted as saying, "It appears to me that there are a lot of talented people trying to put Utah on the filmmaking map, including this current group of Mormon directors. That's very exciting." CARD: The official Orson Scott Card website (hatrack.com) has posted Card's answers to questions "about achieving a successful film based on a book." For the record, Card is the author of the best movie based on a novel ever written: THE ABYSS. But Card has gone the other direction, bringing his own fiction to movies, approximately zero times. But that may change soon. In the answers posted, Card says that he is in the final stages of entering a deal with a major studio to make an "Ender's Game" feature, with an A-list director attached. I'm pretty sure it won't be James Cameron, Barbra Streisand or John Waters. In other Card news, his site has just posted a picture of the cover of his upcoming novel SHADOW PUPPETS, which will go on sale August 19th. This is what I will be doing on August 19th at a local bookstore. Me: "Do you have Shadow Puppets in?" Clerk: "Uhm, yes. They're in the back. We haven't put them out yet." Me: "Can you go get me one?" Clerk: "Okay... I'll be right back..." [Gets book and rings it up.] Clerk: "So... You've been looking forward to this..." Me: "Sorry. Gotta go." HANDCART TIED WITH CHARLY: In the exciting poll over at http://www.ldsfilm.com/polls.html, "Jack Weyland's Charly" is currently tied with "Handcart" (directed by Kels Goodman) as the upcoming LDS-themed feature film the site's visitor's are most looking forward to seeing this year. In other news, "Testaments" and "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" are currently tied in the "Favorite Church-commissioned Kieth Merrill film" poll. LOOKING OVER THE FENCE: "Joshua" is not a film made by or about Latter-day Saints, but it is definitely a Christian film. "Joshua" may mark a much-needed turn away from movies such as "Left Behind" and "Omega Code," which left serious-minded Evangelicals as well as secular movie critics shaking their heads in dismay. Clearly Christian in orientation, "Joshua" avoids the Armageddon-oriented plots of previous major non-LDS Christian films and tells the story of a miracle-performing man in contemporary times -- a man who might be the Second Coming of Christ. F. Murray Abraham plays the senior priest who brings the stranger to the Vatican. The movie is directed by Jon Purdy, best known previously for directing the 1996 television movie "Unabomber: The True Story," which was filmed in Utah. "Unabomber" starred many Latter-day Saint actors, including Tayva Patch ("Brigham City", "Out of Step"), Scott Wilkinson ("Wish Upon a Star", "Testaments"), Kevin Rahm ("Judging Amy"), Christy Summerhays, Michael Flynn, and DonRe Sampson. "Joshua" is based on the same-titled novel by Catholic author Joseph F. Girzone. The production company is Crusader Entertainment, which is predominantly Catholic. The book and movie have broad appeal, with a Christian message general enough to apply to Catholics, Protestants, Latter-day Saints, or any other Christians. Evangelical Christians have consistently bemoaned the low quality of Evangelical Christian films compared to films made by Latter-day Saints. Even Evangelicals who are vehemently anti-Mormon and wish to dissuade their followers from seeing LDS films based purely on denominational affiliation have complained that their own camp has been unable to match the cinematic achievements of "God's Army", "Brigham City", and "The Other Side of Heaven." While "Joshua" was not made by Evangelicals, it is at least expected to be a film that many Evangelicals will like. So far the film is showing only in limited release, but there have been some fairly positive reviews. The general public might even warm up to it as well. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #689 ******************************